The town of Meyerton
in the south of Gauteng
is set to benefit from a decision by the Midvaal
Local Municipality
to establish a development corridor along the R59 freeway, a key regional route
that connects Johannesburg
and Ekurhuleni to the Vaal Triangle. A section of the R59 runs through
Meyerton, providing a lifeline to the south of the province.

Stoffel van Rensburg, Pam Golding Properties area principal in
Meyerton had the following to say, "With already very high numbers of traffic along this route, and
following a full feasibility study, the local municipality has decided to
develop this region as a corridor development, divided into four major nodes -
one of which is Meyerton.

"This project has the potential to transform Meyerton into the
next economic hub in Gauteng
– with appeal for key stakeholders from all major sectors of the economy.
It also offers significant spin-offs in terms of providing major opportunities
for developers, particularly as this area can accommodate development for a
wide variety of uses such as heavy industrial – including large-scale
manufacturing, warehousing, commercial and urban residential use.

"Already property prices in the area are soaring. Land adjacent to
the R59 and in the development nodes which usually sold for approximately R50
000 per hectare is now selling for up to R600 000 a hectare for raw land (ie
not rezoned). While this sounds high it is still very reasonable when compared
to other similar projects such as the R21 and Midrand corridor developments,
where starting prices are around R3.8 million per hectare. Very good buys are
also still available in the Meyerton area for companies willing to rezone
themselves and those which do not rely on highway frontage for exposure. In
this regard land situated just off the highway but still in the corridor area
also affords sound investment opportunities."

Van Rensburg says most of the developers currently in the market are
looking at areas of between 20 and 50 hectares - mainly for the development of
smaller industrial parks. "There is a great deal of interest for land
here, particularly among larger companies which seek to capitalise on the
challenging economic conditions to acquire land at better prices. Of benefit is
that most of the land is currently zoned agricultural - which can be rezoned to
accommodate the buyer."

He adds: "Construction of the Dutch brewer, Heineken's Sedibeng
brewery on the R59 at the gateway to the corridor, about 15km from the Meyerton
CBD, has further raised the profile of this development node, and bodes well
for further development and investment in the area. With very little land
available in other major corridor developments in the area this will definitely
be the next major route development in Gauteng."